Christmas Barbeque
Christmas Barbeque
by Starman800
Summary: Christmas time at the SGC, and Jack decides to have a barbeque at his cabin on Christmas Eve.
Category: Holiday, Romance
Holiday: Christmas
Season: any Season
Pairing: Daniel/Janet, Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are the property of Showtime/Viacom, MGM/UA, Double Secret Productions, and Gekko Productions. I have written this story for entertainment purposes only and no money whatsoever has exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author(s).
Archived on: 01/12/04
Title: Christmas Barbeque
Pairing: Janet/Daniel, Jack/Sam
Rating: PG-13, just in case
Summary: Christmas-time at the SGC, Jack decides to throw a barbeque at his cabin on Christmas Eve.
Disclaimer: Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but don't own them.
Archive: Won't mind, just ask.
"Chevron Seven locked, wormhole established," Sgt. Davis announced to the crowd standing in front of the stargate.
General Hammond looked up to the gate and nodded, "Teal'c, I hope you have a safe trip. See you in a few weeks."
Teal'c nodded as he shifted his staff weapon to the other hand. The rest of SG-1 saw him off with "good-byes" and "see you soons."
"I will see you all upon my return," Teal'c nodded and proceeded to the active gate and disappeared.
SG-1 and General Hammond turned and headed out the door as the iris was sealing shut and the wormhole vanished.
"I hope Teal'c has a good time on Chulack with his son and Pratact," Daniel commented as he took his customary seat in the briefing room.
His friends, now adopted family, agreed with him even though they all wished Teal'c could have joined them for the holiday. However, it's not everyday you get a chance to see your son and your mentor without the fear of a Gou'ld attack.
There was a clearing of the throat from the head of the table as General Hammond took his seat and began his short briefing.
"Ladies and gentlemen I'll get to the point. The SGC is going on stand-down for the holiday. All base personnel will be on leave till after the new year. There will be volunteers here manning the base while we are gone." He took a sip of water and looked up at SG-1.
"What the hell are you all still doing here? Dismissed, I expect you all," he glanced at Major Carter knowing full well she would stay on base and conduct research rather than go out and celebrate, "to be at Colonel O'Neil's house for his get-together."
O'Neil looked up from his paper football as it soared across the table and into Daniel's fingers, which were made into the form of a goal post.
"Thank you Sir!" O'Neil said. "You can all come over around 1300hrs. There will be plenty of food and drinks."
O'Neil thought for a second and then spoke up again. "You might want to bring a change of clothes with you. It's supposed to snow, and if it's bad no one is driving home. Colonel's orders."
The next person to speak was Major Samantha Carter. "Sir, what do you plan on making? I thought all you knew how to do was..." She paused as she looked at the Colonel's face which was sporting a very big smile. "Sir! You wouldn't? You can't!"
Daniel looked up from his current task of trying to balance the football enough to flick it back at Jack and said, "Sam what are you talking about? Jack can cook, I mean he has made plenty of stuff for us on the grill." There was a moment of hesitation when the realization hit him. "Come to think of it, do you even own a stove Jack?"
"Yes Daniel," Jack retorted, "I do. It's practically brand new, but I have one. I've only used it six or seven times in the past couple of years."
With that comment the four of them started to break out laughing. General Hammond spoke up again, "One more thing, we are to leave rank at the SGC, no Sirs, Colonel, Majors, or Generals allowed! We are on a first name basis, got it?" General Hammond looked at his people. "Yes sir!" they all said in unison. General Hammond replied, "Major Carter will you inform Doctor Fraiser of the plans so she and Cassie will know what's going on?"
Before Carter had a chance to reply Daniel jumped in. "I'll inform her General. I have to get her to give me a new prescription anyway." The General nodded, "OK, as I said before, Dismissed."
The trio began to rise from their seats and head out the door. Daniel was headed towards the infirmary to inform Doctor Fraiser about the change in plans. He heard Sam and Jack whispering behind him, and a small chuckle escaped from Sam's lips.
As Daniel neared the infirmary he started thinking about why Sam and Jack were whispering behind him. He was so engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't see the Airman kneeling down to pickup some papers that had fallen until it was too late.
"Ohhmph," was all he managed to say as he tripped over the man and fell flat on his face. It took him a second to regain focus when the throbbing pain took hold of his wrist. He managed to roll over as he grabbed the offending wrist. "Ow, that hurt!!" was all he managed to say.
"Doctor Jackson! Are you OK Sir?" the Airman reached down to help Daniel stand up. "I'm sorry Sir," the Airman continued, "I didn't see you coming."
Daniel clutched at his wrist, wincing in pain as he did so. "It's OK... my fault... should have been paying more attention," Daniel rambled and offered a pained smile.
"Sir," the Airman said, "let me help you to the infirmary." Daniel shook his head. "No need, carry on. I was on my way there anyway. Thank you though." The Airman nodded, collected his papers, and headed on his way.
Daniel just shook his head and cursed silently about almost making it to the infirmary without an actual medical necessity. His hand had begun to throb along with his wrist as he entered the SGC's infirmary.
"What did you do this time?" Doctor Janet Fraiser sighed as she saw Daniel walk in clutching his wrist. "Slight mishap in the corridor," Daniel mumbled, "it's nothing really. Just a scratch." He tried to smile, but when she took hold of his wrist and started to turn it and flex it back and forth, the only thing that passed his lips was an, "OW!" "Well, it doesn't appear to be broken... just sprained. I'll wrap it up and give you some aspirin for the pain. Should be better in a week or two." She moved to grab the bandages to wrap it for him.
"You know," Daniel said, "I was almost here uninjured to talk to you." He wondered what Jack was going to say when he finds out that he hurt himself just by walking the corridors of the SGC.
"Oh? What were you coming down here for," she asked as she carefully wrapped his wrist. "Jack wants everybody at his house at 1300, and he says to bring a bag for you and Cassie, just in case the weather gets bad." Janet nodded as she finished up on his wrist, "OK, you are all finished." She let a small smile spread across her face as he hopped off the bed.
"Also, General Hammond says there is to be no rank at this get-together. His orders." As she was putting her things away, Daniel looked up to notice the mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. He nonchalantly moved under it. Janet came back to see Daniel standing in the center of the room just staring blankly around the room.
"Here you go Daniel. Take these, and if the pain comes back, take two more aspirin." She handed him the pills and a cup of water. He smiled up at her as he swallowed the pills with the water.
"Oh yeah, I need a refill on my allergy meds. I ran out two days ago and forgot to get them refilled." Janet smirked as she pulled out her prescription ad and wrote out the script for him. "Here you go Daniel," she handed the piece of paper over to him.
He reached out, and instead of grabbing the paper he grabbed her hand. Very gently he pulled her toward him and smiled. Janet looked up at him in surprise. "Daniel what..." She didn't have a chance to finish as Daniel descended upon her and kissed her fully on the lips.
Janet was so shocked that she stood there marveling at the tenderness of his kiss. This was not your ordinary, run of the mill kiss under the mistletoe. This kiss was full of love and compassion. She was so amazed by this kiss that the only thing that she could utter after he released her was a simple, yet breathless, "Whoa..." Her mind screamed "Come back, please!!"
As Daniel pulled away from Janet he couldn't help but smile because of the expression on her face, and the fact that she was pretty much speechless. Even though he had feelings for her for quite some time now, he never knew how to exactly express them to her. He thought about sending flowers and little things like that, but he would always chicken out. He could face a group of Gou'ld with his eyes open and his gun ready, but when it came to women, this woman in particular, he was just another geek.
He blinked back out of his thoughts and looked at Janet. Something in her eyes said she wasn't mad at him; he saw shock more than anger. Daniel thought he saw something else in her eyes as well, a glimmer of hope, or maybe relief, he couldn't tell.
"I, um... I think I will be going now," Daniel stuttered. He slowly started to back out of the infirmary, making sure he kept eye contact with her, just in case he was wrong about what he saw in her eyes.
Janet, for all her military and medical training, for the life of her could not get words out of her mouth fast enough, if only to tell him, `Don't go!' "Daniel, wait, don't... go..." It was too late, he was out the door and gone.
Without really thinking about it Janet moved to her office and dialed the extension for her closest friend, on and off the base. She realized she was blushing when she felt warmth rise to her cheeks. The phone rang once, twice, three times before someone picked up on the other end.
"Major Carter," came the greeting. Janet was relieved that Sam hadn't gone home yet for the holiday. "Kiss..." was all she managed to say, her foot was tapping enthusiastically on the leg of her chair.
"I beg your pardon?" Sam was just slightly confused by the caller. Then she realized she recognized the voice. "Janet is that you?" She heard a muffled, "Mmmhmm," from the other end. "What do you mean kiss? What kiss, who kissed?" Sam let the questions fly, trying to get a handle on this new mystery that her friend now dumped in her lap.
Janet took a slow, controlled breath before speaking, trying to calm her beating heart a little. "He kissed me just now in the infirmary." She let a smile slide across her face as the memory resurfaced.
"Who kissed you?" Sam asked, almost wanting to reach through the phone and choke it out of her friend for keeping her waiting.
"Hmm, oh... umm..." Janet was snapped back into the conversation. "Daniel, he kissed me in the infirmary, under the mistletoe, not more than five minutes ago."
"Janet, it's tradition to give someone a quick kiss under the mistletoe..."
"No..." Janet cut Sam off, "Do most kisses leave one weak in the knees? Do most kisses last more than two minutes?" Janet stammered curling the phone cord absently in her fingers.
Sam, however, was just sitting there shocked. If she didn't remember to breathe she would have collapsed from oxygen deprivation. Sam finally said, "What? Our Daniel, the one who always comes back hurt somehow, even if it's a science mission?"
"Same one," Janet replied. I don't know if he planned it or if it was a spur of the moment decisions, but it felt good."
It was now Sam's turn to smile, she was shocked... Janet explained what happened after some nagging from Sam, the sprained wrist, the refills on meds, the mistletoe, and then the kiss. She told her about the look in his blue eyes, it was fear that he had done something wrong, and also relief. It seemed as if he did something he had been trying to do for a very long time, but couldn't get up the nerve until now.
"Well, I don't know what to say Janet, except the dinner at the Colonel's house should be interesting," Sam stated, wondering if she should be that blunt and obvious toward Jack.
"Don't mention it to anybody, especially Colonel O'Neil. He won't let Daniel forget about it!" Janet said, knowing the relationship between the Colonel and Daniel.
Sam sighed, "Alright... so what do you want to do about it? Sam was visibly excited about the idea of getting her friend and her, for all intents and purposes, adopted brother together.
"I don't know... help!" was all Janet could think of. She really had no idea how to keep this ball rolling.
The wheels in Sam's head started to turn. Her smile turned into an ear to ear grin as a plan formed in her head about how to get them started.
"I got it, instead of me picking you up tommorow, I'll ask Daniel to do it. I'll say I have to run an errand or something, and since he is closer if he wouldn't mind picking you and Cassie up to take over to Jack's... I mean the colonel's house."
Janet pretended to ignore Sam's slip of the tongue, just for right now. Her smile faded when a thought occurred to her, what if Daniel doesn't have feelings for her, what if she misread everything?
"Janet? Janet are you still there?" Sam got a little nervous after there was no answer from her friend on the other side of the phone.
"Yes, I'm here, got a little side-tracked, sorry." `Breathe Janet,' she told herself. "That sounds like a plan..."
"Good, a few minor details to work out, but other than that..." Before Sam had a chance to finish her sentence there was a knock at her door.
"Come in..." Sam looked at the door as it opened, and she quickly turned around and spoke into the phone. "Janet I have to go, I'll call you when I get home..."
As Janet was hanging up the phone she could have sworn she heard Sam say Daniel's name, but why would he go to Sam and not Colonel O'Neil? `That man is a mystery,' Janet thought to herself as she got ready to make it an early night, `but hopefully he's a mystery I get to figure out one day.'
"Daniel, what can I do for you?" Sam asked as she placed the phone down. She was a little surprised to see him there, he actually looked surprised to be there too.
He had thought about that answer since he had left Janet in the infirmary. He had walked the corridors of the SGC for what felt like hours. He had thoughts running through his head about what had just happened, why he kissed her that way. His thoughts were that of what to do now, how to proceed, what would happen if she didn't feel that same way toward him. He was brought out of his thoughts by Sam clearing her throat.
"Sorry, I just came to ask you something, umm, well something kinda personal."
At those words, Same straightened up. Why would he be here to talk to her about anything personal.? Usually he talks to Jack about things.. `Damn, called him Jack again.' She thought.
"Ok, just one question?" She had to think of away to say this without being rude or breaking his confidence. She noticed him nod and continued.
"Why come to me? I mean you spend more time with Jack..." `Damnit' she mentally scolded herself. "I mean Colonel O'Neil, then anybody else... So why come to me?"
Sam motioned for him to have a seat on the opposite side of the table. She watched him move toward the chair and sit down.
"Well, I would rather not let him know at the moment." He shifted in his seat slightly, trying to get comfortable. He thought about how he wanted to go about saying this... He had thought about it on his little tour through the SGC but it seemed that the words had run away from him.
"I'm assuming you already know what happened in the infirmary. You and Janet have your own little grapevine." He paused to gauge her reaction.
"I want to know, well, I would like to know if what I did was out of line?" He breathed a sigh of relief, like a weight was lifted off his chest, well, at least for the moment.
Sam looked at Daniel with a stunned expression on her face. she had to play this out very carefully or it would never work out for her friends.
"Well, I don't know if it's my place to tell you this or not, but no you didn't' cross the line..." She took a deep breath before continuing.
"Janet was more relieved than anything else, a little more surprised by the suddenness of your actions, she thought she was going to have to drug you to get you to do something."
Daniel just nodded his head and smiled a little bit about the drugging part.
"Ok, so what do I do now? I'm not really up on how to do the whole courting thing. I mean every woman I meet wants to hurt or kill me or my friends."
Sam chuckled at Daniel's comment. When she thought about it she realized that he was right. Ever since joining the SGC he had had some bad relationships, and in all the relationships he was either getting hurt or someone in SG-1 was getting hurt because of his relationship.
"Alright Daniel, I will help you, but you have to help me when I need it." She looked at him, the wheels in her head already starting to turn about the project she was going to need help with.
Daniel just looked at her and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Ok, so what do I need to do?" His own thoughts started to turn in his head, however his musings were interrupted by Sam.
"Daniel, first of all you need to relax. We will get you through this. Just relax, ok?" She gave him one of those infamous Sam smiles.
"First things first, you are going to send her flowers with a card." She thought about what the card should say for a moment.
Daniel liked the idea, except for the card. What would he say? He thought along with Sam before he spoke. "Well it should be apologetic, since I'm not supposed to know how she feels towards me, yet." Sam nodded in agreement as she thought some more.
"How about something along the lines of `lines are drawn, borders are formed, I hope I haven't crossed those boundaries, and if I have I am truly sorry..."
Daniel's eyes widened as he heard that. "Sam that's perfect..." He looked at his watch. He still had enough time to call and get the flowers delivered by tonight if he hurried. He stood up and headed toward the door.
"DANIEL! Sam yelled for him to stop, I'm not finished yet. He turned around to see what else she could possibly have to add to such a wonderful message.
"Huh? What do you mean, Sam, the message is wonderful." He was already thinking about the type of flowers to send and was not really paying attention to Sam at the moment.
"Thursday, you can pick Janet and Cassie up to take them to Jack's house. I will let Janet know. I will tell her I have errands to run or something and that you said you would pick them up."
Daniel nodded with a smile as he noticed how underhanded and cunning Sam could be.
"Now go make your call, I will let Janet know about tomorrow." She smiled as she went for the phone; she wasn't really planning on calling Janet till she got home.
Daniel nodded and moved over to Sam and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, so much I own you one." With that he bolted out the door to make his call, not hearing Sam say she would collect in due time.
She looked at her watch and figured she might as well call Janet now, instead of waiting to go home. She dialed the number and waited for about 3 rings before someone picked up the phone, it didn't sound like Janet when she said hello.
"Hello?" it only took a moment for Sam to realize it was Cassie, her adopted god-daughter, and she smiled.
"Cassie, its Sam how are you doing?"
"Hi Sam, I'm doing good. I can't wait till Friday. Christmas is great!!"
Cassie couldn't contain the excitement in her voice. Ever since they had introduced her to Christmas it was her favorite Earth holiday. She was also excited, because she got to see Sam, Jack, and Daniel. She was slightly sad cause Teal'c wasn't going to be there, but he had his own family to go and see.
"That's good," Sam said, "I'm glad you like it so much. Your mom said you went shopping with her to get everyone's gifts and you wore her out." Sam smiled as she remembered the day Janet walked in looking exhausted, saying something about 10 hours shopping with a teenager being hazardous to one's health.
Cassie laughed at that as the memory resurfaced. "Yeah, we had fun, although it was a shame that SG-1 was on a mission We would have loved to have you come with us."
Sam smiled, but after what Janet had said she was glad she was up to her waist in mud on PX3-498. That mission went a lot easier than the shopping trip.
"I know. I was upset that I missed it... Listen is your mom there? I have inform her of some plan changes for tomorrow."
Sam pulled the phone form her ear as Cassie shouted for her mom to pick up the phone. "Thank you Cassie," Janet said as she picked up the other line. "Go and finish packing for your sleep over."
Cassie said bye to Sam, and replaced to phone back on its cradle to finish what she was doing.
"So what happened, Sam?" Janet asked. Only moments ago she had stepped through the door arriving home from the SGC. She was hoping to hear good news about Daniel.
"It's all set. Daniel will pick you two up around noon tomorrow." Sam debated whether to tell her about the flowers but decided against it. Sam did, however, inform her of what she and Daniel talked about in her office.
"Janet do you have any mistletoe?" Sam asked getting an idea in her head. A wicked grin crossed her lips.
**** Daniel looked at his watch. The flower shop he had called, after much arguing, threatening, and finally an extra $200, said that they could get his order onto the last delivery of the night. He gave them the address and what was to be written on the card. He had picked carnations and tulips, thinking just roses would be a little bit too romantic this early in a relationship. Is that what he was in now with Janet - a relationship? He sure hoped so. He did throw some roses in the mix just to add color, at least that's what he told himself. It was almost 8 o'clock, the flower shop said they would be there by now, since it was the last delivery they had to make.
**** Janet had just sat down on the sofa after cleaning up her dinner and changing into a pair of flannel pants and sweatshirt. Her hair was down and the makeup was off. She just started to relax when the doorbell interrupted her. `Never a break' she thought as she got up and went to the door. Cassie had left about an hour ago, so it was just her. She opened the door to see a very big bundle of carnations, tulips, and a few roses in a man's hand.
"Can I help you?" She asked kind of surprised.
"Yes ma'am, I have a delivery here from a Dr. Daniel Jackson to one Dr. Janet Fraiser. I need you to sign here please." He handed over a clip board and pen still holding the flowers in his other hand.
"Daniel?" She pondered for a moment as she signed the paper and handed it back to him.
"Yes Ma'am,. He was very adamant about making sure you got these by end of business tonight. He said something about some God named Ra coming down and striking us with his wrath or something. He finally paid extra to get these out. He must really love you ma'am." With that the driver handed over the flowers and turned toward his truck to head home.
Janet took the flowers from him and smiled. "Don't worry Ra is dead, has been for thousands of years. Have a nice Christmas." She grinned and headed inside the house to put the flowers on the table. They were already in a crystal vase. She was looking at them when she noticed the card at the top.
`Lines are drawn, Borders are formed, I hope I haven't crossed those lines, If I did, I am very sorry.
Daniel'
She re-read the card 3 times. Each time she read it the smile on her face kept getting bigger and bigger, if only he knew how she felt about him. She moved to the phone and thought about calling Sam, but instead she dialed Daniel's number and waited for him to answer the phone. After about 4 rings his machine picked up, and she just hung up the phone, not wanting to leave a message.
She was thinking about what to do next when a knock at the door brought her back to reality. Sighing, she wished it was the phone ringing instead, hoping it was Daniel calling her back. She headed once again to the door wondering who it could be this time.
She opened the door and got a shock of a lifetime. There standing on her doorstep was Daniel, the man that had just sent her a great deal of flowers. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming this like she had so many times before.
"Daniel? What... What are you doing here?" She stuttered still trying to make sure this wasn't a dream.
"I'm... I'm not really sure, I just wanted to make sure that you got the flowers I had sent and to say I was sorry for earlier this afternoon in the infirmary," he stammered as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He wasn't a very forward guy, but for some reason with Janet it felt like he could just open up with her, and everything would go away and would be better. He noticed the smile on her face and the flowers behind her on the table in the kitchen; that made him smile.
Janet, being at a loss for words, just spoke the first words that came into her mind.
"Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee and warm up a little?" She asked. She noticed it was snowing pretty heavily outside. She hadn't noticed it before, so it must have just started.
For being able to speak over 23 languages, and some that nobody else knew about, he, for the love of the gods, could not say yes in any one of them. He just stood there with a blank expression on his face.
"Daniel?" Janet had a mild hint of concern in her voice. "Are you alright?" She reached out and touched his arm trying to bring him out of his reverie.
He blinked several times at the feel of her touch. It felt like a charge of energy had hit him and was exploding his cells from the inside out, but all in a good way.
"Um... Yeah, I mean yes I would love a cup." He thought for a moment, "If it is not too much trouble." He offered a smile hoping she would pull her hand off of his arm.
"Relax, it's still early, besides Cassie is at a friends house spending the night, and I could use the company." She smiled as she re-adjusted her hand to wrap it around his arm. She felt the same thing, energy racing up her arm to her back and moving through her entire body. It sent a nice shiver down her spine that was almost intoxicating. Not wanting to relinquish the feelings or the touch she had at the moment, she moved to the side and gently guided Daniel into her home. Once he was inside she helped him off with his jacket and placed it on the coat hook by the door. Janet rewrapped her hand on his arm as she lead him into the kitchen. She was hoping he didn't notice how crimson her cheeks had gotten and the ear to ear grin on her face.
Daniel, being the gentleman that he is, never thought once about refusing the offer for coffee, especially if it was with the company of such a lovely and talented Doctor. He graciously accepted her arm around his after he took off his jacket. He allowed her to guide him into the kitchen where said coffee would mostly likely be. He was well aware of the grin on his face that went ear to ear and that his cheeks were getting flustered, and he hoped she didn't notice it.
Janet led Daniel into the kitchen and motioned for him to have a seat. They both reluctantly parted from each other's touch as Janet went to start the coffee and Daniel took a seat.
"Would you like some help with that?" He asked looking toward her as she filled the coffee maker with the coffee and water.
"No thank you, I think I can manage on my own," she said as she turned around and smiled at him. To any other person beside the two of them it would have seemed like a friendly smile, but to Janet and Daniel it meant more.
"Okay, just wondering." He smiled back at her in the same manner as she had just smiled at him. He also took the time to let his eyes roam over her body. Since it always seemed to be in the military uniform it never really let ones imagination roam, but for some reason the flannel pants and the sweatshirt put good thoughts into his head.
Janet had brought down two mugs and set them in front of Daniel. She looked up and noticed Daniel was looking at her. Was he checking her out? She blushed slightly as she realized what she must have looked like at the moment.
"So, what are you doing for Christmas this year?" She asked him trying to forget about how she looked at the moment.
Daniel shook out of his thoughts as he thought about the question.
"Well after Jack's party tomorrow, I don't really have anything planned. I'll probably sit at home and catch up on some notes or something. Christmas has never really been my thing." Actually he liked Christmas; he just hated always being alone for it. He never really had a family... well he did, but they were always different. His face looked a little sad as he remembered some of the times past. After a couple moments he shook his head and closed out those thoughts.
"So, what do you have planned for the holiday?" He asked as she turned around and grabbed the pot of coffee that was sitting there ready to be served. She turned around and poured coffee into his cup then hers and set the pot back down.
Taking a sip of the black liquid she said, "Well after the colonel's party Cassie and I will be getting ready to go to my parents house on Christmas Day... after we open our gifts here of course..."
Daniel smiled. "How is Cassie adjusting to the holiday season? Has she mentioned anything like this on her world?" He said as he sipped at his coffee.
At this point in time neither of them noticed that they had gravitated toward each other and were facing each other with there legs on either side of one another.
"She likes Christmas, she was a little confused last year with it but I think she has adjusted to it very well. She has said she likes New Years better. She mentioned it was like a tradition on her world. A celebration of a `New chance at life' or something along those lines. I'm a little worried about her though; she doesn't talk much about her world or her family. When she does it's not very descriptive," Janet sighed.
Daniel, on the other hand, was thinking of what to say. He knew it was hard loosing your family, and then your world. He was from Earth, but he thought of Abodos as home too. He could relate. He had finished his cup of coffee when he noticed how close they were sitting together. He felt her legs up against his as he readjusted his sitting position. He could smell her perfume. He gently reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. He felt her jerk slightly in surprise then she visibly relaxed as if it was giving her strength.
"I don't know what to tell you. I kind of understand what she is going through, what she is feeling. All I can say is let her know you will always be there and love her and that no matter what happens she will also have people who will take care of her." He took a deep breath. "Cassie went through a lot, even though it was a couple years ago it was still a lot. Something like that can have a very lasting effect on someone. Believe me I know."
He gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance. She in turn tightened her grip on his hand and gave him a warm smile
"Thank you. I knew what I had to do. I know it's hard for her to adjust to a new life on an alien world. I just needed to hear it from someone else.
Janet gave his hand a squeeze repaying him for his previous gesture. She glanced up to see one of the mistletoe she had put up around her house was hanging above them. She smiled and took a breath inward, readying herself for something she planned after talking to Sam.
"Daniel can I ask you a question?" She looked into his blue eyes and smiled.
He nodded at her wondering what she had to ask him. He was starting to feel apprehensive about it though.
"Well, um, I need to know how you feel about something." She swallowed as she moved closer to him, a small smile crept over her lips as she looked up.
He followed her eyes and laid them upon the mistletoe tacked to the cabinet above them. Before he had a chance to smile about that he felt a pair of warm, soft lips pressed against his.
Janet, on the other hand, felt weak in the knees even though she wasn't standing up. She was nervous; she knew what she wanted to do, but actually going through with it was scary to her. Finally with resolve she squared her shoulders and moved in for the kill, so to speak. It was like something out the story books, fireworks going off in her head, bells clanging, whistles shrieking. It was magical; it was pure energy she had never felt anything like it before in her life. Well, besides when he had kissed her earlier that day.
Janet was happy, no, thrilled, that he wasn't complaining as she increased the intensity of the kiss. Actually he was reciprocating the kiss very passionately as well.
Daniel had felt her lips touch his and it was all over. Self-control was out the door, bags packed, for-sale sign up, it was gone. As he proceeded to give her mouth a work out his hands moved very slowly up her back so he could wrap his arms around her. It felt right to do that, he let his one hand travel farther up her back to rest upon her cheek, cupping it oh so lovingly.
Janet felt his hands move over her back and it sent shivers down her spine as his one hand remained but the other ended up on her cheek. She felt so warm and safe she never wanted this moment to end. Unfortunately her mind had other problems and was screaming for her attention. `Air, need air,' was all it was saying. She slowly started to pull away from the kiss, and her body started to suck down air like there was no tomorrow. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest, and she thought she heard Daniel's beating too.
Daniel's mind had the same warning that he needed to breathe. He felt Janet slowly start to pull away and he had started to back off gulping down mass quantities of air. He heard her heart beating very fast and it felt like his was going to beat out of his chest.
Daniel looked at Janet and smiled. "I think... I think I am stating to like this holiday." He had moved his hands around hers, loving the touch again.
"Oh, why would that be?" she sighed as he moved his hand from her face but smiled when he took her hands into his.
His voice softened as the words came to mind. "Because of good traditions like mistletoe. That, and as long as I can spend it with you now and forever, I won't be alone this year or any other..." He didn't realize that he was saying that, admitting he was scared to be alone, but he had. He didn't remember having such intense feelings for his wife, but he did love her. He just didn't realize it could go beyond that.
"What... What did you just say?" She managed to stutter out. It was soft but it came out. She was far from upset, she was happy, but she wanted to make sure he had actually said it and she wasn't dreaming again.
"Janet I'm sorry, but if I don't get this out I don't think I ever will. I'm sorry if it ruins our friendship, but I have to take that chance. You mean too much to me not to let you know how I feel..." He took an intake of air, summoning all the courage he could.
"I like you, well actually I love you. I have since I met you. You are a kind, sweet, charming person; you put other's needs above your own. I don't want it to be my life I want it to be ours - you, Cassie, and me. I see my life in the future, and all I can see in it is the three of us and our friends." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't just want your friendship anymore. I want your love. I am putting my heart on the line here and I want you to be more than my friend, more than my doctor." He held up his bandaged hand for emphasis.
Janet thought she was taking it very well aside from the fact that her heart had stopped beating and she couldn't remember when she last took a breath. But, other then that she was taking it well. Here he was, a man that she had some real vivid dreams about since she had meet him, and he was professing his love for her. She hadn't known what to say. Her mind was screaming. `Yes oh gods yes Daniel I will have your babies.' She blinked for a second, umm, too far into the future, but she was still saying yes to him. For once since he knocked on her door her mind and body were in complete agreement.
"Daniel, I love you too, ever since you first came into the infirmary. I die a little every time you go through the gate. It hurts so much when you come back injured. It's hard to separate the doctor from the part of me that loves you. I don't want to lose you. I want it to be our life, not mine and Cassie's, but Cassie, you, and me together as a family with our friends."
She smiled at him knowing how he was feeling right now. "You understand that we have to talk to Cassie about all of this before we say anything to the others, and we should take it slow, not turtle slow but slow..."
"I know, I want to talk to Cassie about this," Daniel said. "It's like asking your father permission to marry you, I have to ask your daughter how she feels about me." He smiled at the thought of them getting married. Hopefully one day. "There are things to discuss, but either way I know we can do it together." He raised her hands to his lips and kissed the backs of them very gently and then set her hands back down.
"I love you Janet, I always have and always will." He stared into her eyes waiting.
"I love you too Daniel." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek as he enveloped her into a very tight hug. Again she felt warm and safe in his arms, she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck savoring the warmth.
Daniel smiled as she nuzzled up under his neck, wrapping her arms around his back and holding him tightly. It felt very comfortable there. He increased his hold on her trying to keep her close, never wanting to let her go. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment; it felt normal. It had actually felt like something he had been doing his whole life with her. He was brought out of his reverie by something beeping. He looked up and noticed the clock on the wall since he couldn't get to his watch at the moment.
Breathing out a sigh, with out even moving from his position he whispered into her ear "Janet, I think it's best if I get going, it's getting late." Neither of them noticed that it was almost one o'clock in the morning. They didn't think they had talked about other stuff but apparently they had. He saw her frown from her position in his arms.
"Oh... you could always stay." She whispered to him. "I mean it is late. You shouldn't drive home." She had moved off his chest to look at him.
"Well, I do have to drive back here to pick you and Cassie up to take you to Jack's place. I could always stop home to get cleaned up and changed on the way to the cabin tomorrow." He smiled as he double-checked his plan, making sure there weren't any flaws in the idea.
"That sounds like a good plan to me," she thought for a moment.
"I'm going to go up and get ready for bed. Why don't you lock my door and clean up our little mess; I will be back down in a moment..." She reluctantly pulled from him giving him a playful little peck on the lips as she headed up the stairs. As she was washing her face, her thoughts drifted to that which could not be just yet. Sure they could if they wanted to. She just wasn't sure what he thought about it, even if he did, it would be way to fast. Even though they had professed their love for each other a couple of hours ago, they hadn't even gone out on an actual date, so no, nothing yet.
Janet had come back downstairs. She had stopped off in the linen closet to grab a pillow and blanket for Daniel. She stopped at the foot of the stairs when she heard her sink running and glasses clinking together. She shook her head and smiled. `Haven't had him more than a day and already he is house broken.' She chuckled to herself as she set the linens on the sofa and went into the kitchen.
She walked into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Daniel's waist as he turned off the water and dried his hands off. He wrapped his fingers in with hers and squeezed as she hugged him. He turned around and smiled looking down into her eyes. With the same thought they both headed over to the sofa in the other room. Daniel had let go and slipped out of her grasp if only for a moment to set the blanket and the pillow up on the sofa.
She smiled as she watched him make the sofa up. He plopped down and motioned for her to join him under the blanket. With a moment of thought she figured it would be better than sleeping alone knowing he was down here. She crawled under the blanket and nestled between his legs, her back against his chest, and her head resting against his shoulder.
He tucked the blanket in around them, wrapped his arms around her form, and let her intertwine her fingers with his. He settled down and got comfortable with her curled up in his arms.
She had felt the calmness of sleep start to drift over her as their arms wrapped around each other. She heard him say something but she didn't quite understand what he said...
"Hmmm...?" She asked sleepily.
He bent his head down and kissed her on her earlobe and smiled... "I said that I love you." Absently his thumb was making small circles on her hand as they lay there.
She smiled as his words drifted into her mind... "I love you too..." She snuggled up against him as sleep started to take her again. She felt his breath start to slow as he was drifting into sleep as well. That was the last thing she really remembered.
*******
The one thing Cassie didn't expect to see when she came home was to see her mom sound asleep in Daniel's arms on the sofa, both looking very content and relaxed under the blanket. It had looked to Cassie that her mom had finally managed to snag Daniel. She had to smile at her mom, she was always talking about Daniel, but never said anything about it to him because she didn't know how he felt about her. Well it looked like she had finally found out.
"Mom!" Cassie walked over to her mother and gently shook her on the shoulder. "Mom, wake up!"
Janet felt the warmth of a body behind her as the memories of the previous night came flowing into her mind. Daniel kissed her, sent flowers, came over, after coffee and lots of talking they had both professed their love for each other. She had asked him to stay since it was so late, and he had invited her to spend the night on the sofa with him.
"Mom, come on, wake up..." Her daughter shook her a little more.
"What... What time is it?" Janet slowly opened her eyes letting them adjust to the light that was now pouring into the room.
"It's 10:30 in the morning. I just got home so I can get ready for Uncle Jack's party." Cassie had plopped down on the sofa making sure to land on Daniel's legs with a smile.
"Oomph... What the?" Daniel opened his eyes to see Cassie staring at him with a smile.
"Morning, sleep well?" Cassie looked at Daniel and continued to smile.
"Um... Fine thank you. How are you doing?" He asked trying to get the feeling back into his legs.
"I'm fine, I do have one question though?" She moved off his legs and onto a spot on the cushion.
Daniel stretched his knee out and nodded. "Okay, go ahead."
"What are you intentions with my mother?" Her smile faded as the 15 year old girl looked him square in the eyes.
Daniel blinked several times and glanced down at Janet for a second as she stiffened at the question. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze even though her daughter was there, she hadn't moved from her spot against his chest.
Daniel swallowed and put on a smile. "Nothing but honorable, well mostly anyway, Ma'am." He grinned, flexing the fingers on his injured hand. He reached over and grabbed his glasses from the table. He didn't even remember taking them off last night.
Cassie's eyes fixed on him at that comment. "Good, cause I would hate to have to hurt you." She smiled and patted his leg as she got up off the sofa.
"Now who wants some breakfast and/or coffee?" she asked as she headed into the kitchen.
"Coffee..." both of them had said in unison, still a little shocked about Cassie's bluntness and lack of utter surprise at the situation.
Both of them stood up and headed into the kitchen to help Cassie with breakfast.
"What time are we going to Uncle Jack's house?" She asked as she started to make the coffee, looking back at her mother, and maybe new father, well one day, she silently hoped.
"Well, the party isn't till one o'clock. But we need to stop at Daniel's apartment so he can get showered, shaved, changed, and feed his fish." She thought for a moment. "So we will leave here around 11:30 or so." Janet took a mug of coffee from her daughter and sipped it as she poured on for Daniel and handed it over to him.
"Make sure you pack a bag, just in case the weather gets bad."
Cassie just nodded as she shoved some toast into her mouth and headed upstairs to shower and pack for Christmas Eve dinner. From what Mom always said humans usually had a big dinner on Christmas Day. But, since everybody had different family to go to, the members of the SGC do this dinner thing on Christmas Eve. `Maybe Daniel will have Christmas dinner with us,' Cassie continued her thoughts as she got ready.
"So, that went well," Daniel stated as he nibbled on some toast.
Janet sat down next to him and nodded. "Yes, I don't think she should have seen us like that but better than I thought. I am still going to talk with her. Then we will have to talk to her," she sipped on her coffee.
"So what do you want to tell the others? They are bound to figure it out sooner or later," he asked smiling at her, he leaned in a little closer, just being comforted by her warmth.
Janet shrugged, "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it. Sam won't say anything, and she will tell the Colonel if he sees anything to keep it quiet for the time being."
He nodded looking at his watch. "Well, you should go and get ready. I still need to head home and grab my gifts for everybody and hop in the shower."
Janet sighed as she stood up and headed up the stairs to get ready to go to the Colonel's cabin. She heard Cassie get out of the shower, scamper into her room, and shut the door. Janet just shook her head and mumbled something about teenagers as she headed into the shower.
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